Back in my Anaheim High School days, students who worked did so at one of two spots: the Carl's Jr. on Broadway and Harbor Boulevard, or the Family Fun Center (which mostly hired people from Valencia High, but that's another story). Imagine my surprise five years after graduation, when most of the Carl's employees were adult Mexicans. I'm not the one who did the hiring, but let's just say I knew more than a few illegal immigrants who worked at Carl's, McDonald's and other chain restaurants--and that the people who hired them knew exactly what the legal status of their employees are.

I don't care who hires who, of course, being an Aztlanista and all. But the days of chain restaurants hiring illegal immigrants are probably over.

For the past couple of months, Chipotle has been firing employees who can't verify their legal status, much to the consternation of immigrant advocates, who rightly point out that Chipotle can't claim ignorance. It's gotten so bad that Chipotle workers are now quitting before the feds get at them.

Nation's Restaurant News did a story on the trend earlier this week, with Pei Wei playing the ignorant part. Instead of throwing their workers under the bus, they, Chipotle and others should stick by their employees--yeah, right. . . .